71 dead in lightning strikes, flash floods in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu

Heavy rains triggered flash floods in parts of Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu region disrupting normal life on Monday even as the deaths due to lightning strikes in several states climbed to 71, including 42 in Uttar Pradesh.

Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday to take stock of the situation arising from floods in several districts of the state and assured him of all possible help from the Centre.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rushed three teams to conduct rescue-and-search operations in the flash flood-affected regions in Kangra.


The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, and yellow alert for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for Tuesday with warning of heavy rains.

In Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala, flash floods triggered by heavy rains swept away cars and two buildings, videos of which were widely shared on the social media. The flash floods also damaged several buildings, including one housing a government school, as bad weather led to the closure of the Kangra airport at Gaggal.—OPB/PTI